Recovery
by xxBlueTangerine
Summary: Shikamaru feels nothing after Asuma's death. He is not motivated to feel anything...that is, until someone comes along to show him how. ShikaTema central, hints of other couples. Rated M for Mature - language and suggestiveness. C:
1. Chapter 1  Temari PoV

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Okay, so this is my first attempt at an actual full-length story. I really hope you all will enjoy it.

But considering it's my first, I may be a little rusty. I need criticism to get better!

Okay, so now a few things about the story. It takes place beginning three weeks after Sarutobi Asuma's death.

It is central ShikaTema, with hints of other couples here and there. It is going to move slow at first, but I need to get things going. You know how it is.

The chapters will be written in third person. However, the point of view will switch with each chapter unless I say different. For example, this chapter is in Temari's point of view, and the next will be in Shikamaru's point of view. Got it?

And for the legal crap...

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is copyrighted to Masashi Kishimoto.

This is rated **TEEN PLUS.** Just to be safe. No kiddies under sixteen should read. There will be language and eventually it will get very saucy.

Well that just about sums it up! Enjoy and remember to comment and review!

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She had not even reached the Village Gates yet, but already she felt the heavy, intense atmosphere. The land of bright and happy now wore no color. It was sepia-toned and filled with boring shades of dullness and sorrow. A few weeks before she left for her trip, she heard about the murder of Sarutobi Asuma, and she supposed this would explain the lack of typical Konoha demeanor, however; she was confused - in her country, death was everywhere. Everyone accepted it and moved on, without much grieving unless it was a close loved one. That would be the understanding anywhere, she assumed, even here in Konoha. But in this particular case, every single citizen was grieving, and not just the loved ones of the dearly departed. It was a common shinobi. A teacher. One that she was positive not everyone had learned under, yet the entire village was in a state of depression.

Though used to depressing and hopeless settings, she had never experienced complete and utter desolation like this before. Sabaku no Temari found herself surrounded by despair in every direction, no matter how beautiful the warm summer morning was. Birds sang and other various wildlife frolicked and ran, but inside the city walls of Konoha, it seemed as if all life stood still. Temari, of course, was a life form that was completely capable of movement and was just that. She approached the South Gate of Konoha. The two men who stood guard at the gate were there, but said nothing to her. They glanced at her I.D., glanced at her face, and then they sat back in their chairs, without a single word.

After "checking in," Temari began to walk towards Hokage Tower to report to Tsunade about her arrival. The entire reason she was on this trip was give Tsunade a few important documents that any other messenger would not have been trusted with carrying, and she intended to do that as well upon meeting with the Hokage. As she walked, she made a mental note to herself about the eerie quietness and stillness of the once-lively town. It made her shiver to see such happiness just…gone.

She entered the tower and walked up to the Hokage's office. She knocked three times and waited until she heard Lady Tsunade's strong, loud voice. "Enter," it demanded. She obeyed. Stepping inside, Temari was greeted by a much uplifting sight - color. The room had more color than anything she had seen in the last four days. It was lined with flowers from wall to wall. She looked at each set of flowers individually, taking in all of the unique patters in the petals. Amazing…she didn't even know flowers like this existed. It wasn't until she heard an abrupt clearing of the throat that Temari noticed she'd gotten distracted. And by flowers, at that. How uncharacteristic of her. Nevertheless, Tsunade did not seem mad. In fact, she answered Temari's unspoken questions. She must have seen her gazing at all the flowers.

"I assume you've heard of Sarutobi Asuma's recent death. It was three weeks ago today." She waited for Temari to confirm this before continuing. "Everyone has been sending flowers to Kurenai. However, Kurenai is pregnant. We did not want to harm the baby nor Kurenai herself with foreign allergies while they're both so vulnerable, so all the flowers from far-away and unfamiliar countries are here with me. We'd rather be safe than sorry." Temari nodded again. She understood, even if she did think it was a little overdramatic. It was only flowers. She looked to her left and spotted a certain flower native to Suna, her home country. Since when was Suna unfamiliar? "The documents, please." "Oh…yes. Here you are, Godaime-sama." She handed over the documents quickly - they were still in mint condition. "Thank you, Temari. How long will you be staying with us for?" "Five days, and then I will return to Suna," she answered diligently. "And do you have a place to stay?"

…what?

Shit.

She forgot.

She felt her face grow hot as well as felt it drain of color. She calmed herself in a moment however, and answered truthfully, now matter how embarrassing it sounded. "As of right this moment, I do not. It seems I was too focused on one task that I completely forgot the other…but don't worry about me. I'll find a place to stay." Tsunade smirked, though it didn't look genuine. It looked forced, like she did not feel like smiling, and Temari respected her for doing it anyway. She knew how it felt to put on a happy face when all you wanted to do was scream. "It's all right, Temari. It just so happens that there is a place that accepts walk-ins. It is fairly inexpensive. I have never stayed there myself, but I know someone who has and they say it's not that bad. If you'll only be with us for five days then you should be fine." Oh. Okay. "Thank you so much, Godaime-sama. I suppose I'll run off to find the place." She bowed to the Hokage and turned to face the door, but before she could set foot forward, she heard, "One more thing, Temari." She turned around again to face Tsunade. "Yes?" "As always, your escort while you stay in Konoha is Nara Shikamaru. However, ever since his sensei's passing…he is not himself. Please, I am asking you not only as a superior but as his friend. Be reasonable with him. I know you are not familiar with the stubbornness and lack of motivation that comes with losing someone dear to you, so it may be difficult. But please, just try." Temari stood there a moment and thought. Stubborn? Lack of motivation? Sounded like typical Lazy-ass to her, yet she complied anyway. While in Konoha, she must follow any commands given to her by their Hokage.


	2. Chapter 2 Shikamaru PoV

**A/N:** Hey everyone! I hope you guys are still interested. Well anyway, I should remind you that the point of view has changed. It's now Shikamaru we're following.

Also, the story is going to be slow-moving at first. But don't worry! It will pick up! Please review guys, it seriously helps me get better and keeps me confident. And on that note, I give you chapter two...

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The sun rose upon Shikamaru's twentieth day without Asuma.

He tried to go back to sleep for a while, but his internal clock insisted upon having him up and alert at 8:00 sharp. His eyes had not yet opened, but he could now see the backs of his eyelids as warm orangey-red, and not as empty blackness - sunlight was piercing through not only his window curtains, but his eye curtains as well. After forfeiting his battle against sleep, he sat up in his bed and stayed there for at least five minutes. He sat still until he was awake enough to understand that his hair was down and unbrushed, his teeth were plaquey and he could taste his breath, and his motivation to continue the day was still not there. He just didn't care anymore.

Shikamaru was never really one to care in the first place, but this was a different kind of not caring. It was worst in the mornings when he first woke up…Shikamaru hated waking up. He stole a glance over to his bedside alarm clock, which read 8:20. With a sigh, Shikamaru got off of his bed and wobbled into the bathroom to shower and freshen up.

Shikamaru emerged another fifteen minutes later, showered and feeling refreshed yet still tired. He made his way into his kitchen. He was a horrible cook, but hey, he'd been surviving on his own food for about a year now. That must mean he was doing something right. After raiding his cabinets, he realized he didn't even have an appetite. He toasted a single piece of bread and ate that so he would have something to go on, but he probably wouldn't even get hungry until noon. Until then, he would be working in the Decoding Department at Hokage Tower.

He walked out of his kitchen and to his front door, grabbing his green vest off of the sofa before leaving the apartment. Once outside he drew a deep breath then sighed, exhaling all the bad feelings that came with his mornings. As if his mornings were not bad enough, no one even talked to him. Everyone seemed afraid they might upset or otherwise disturb him.

Of course, two weeks ago, their fears would have been rationalized had they tried to speak to him. That first week, he was a walking rainstorm. No one dared come near him. His entire personal bubble was stormy and gray, and everyone he passed could sense it. But now, his rainstorm had cooled down to a soft, monotonous rainfall...the kind that puts you to sleep on warm summer nights.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed his arrival at the Tower. He entered quietly, hoping he wouldn't make a fuss over being a few minutes late. A few people stopped what they were doing, looked up at him and smiled softly. Shikamaru gave a nod of approval and they went back to their tasks at hand. He walked up the circular staircase to the office and knocked at her door. "Enter," said Tsunade's booming voice. When he did so, Tsunade greeted him with a genuine smile, much unlike the people he had seen downstairs. He nodded back to her. "Good morning, Shikamaru. You're looking fine today." "Thank you," he said, and his voice sounded more displeased than he meant it to. "Well, now that you've reported in you may get to work downstairs in your department. But before you go, I must remind you. Sabaku no Temari came in yesterday. As per usual you will act as her guide while she is in town, which will be for five days. Is that…okay with you? While you're escorting her, you're excused from work. Thus, you have an excuse to sleep in if she does." She winked at him. "Tsunade, you don't need to bribe me. I'll accept my orders. I'll visit her at noon during my lunch break and discuss things with her. Where is she staying?" Tsunade's smile faded. At least she had tried to keep the mood light. Either way, he did seem to be in better spirits as time passed. She answered his question after a moment more of contemplation: "I'm not entirely sure. It's a hotel that accepts walk-ins. It's middle-class. She had forgotten to reserve her usual condo due to being preoccupied, she said." Shikamaru thought for a moment. Last he checked, Konoha had only one hotel that accepted walk-ins, and it was right across the street from his apartment. If he was right, then this assignment may not be quite as unworthy of this time.

"Hokage-sama, I believe that hotel is right across the street from my apartment." "Lovely! Then you shouldn't have any problems. Thank you, Shikamaru. I appreciate you doing this." What an odd compliment. He had done this task multiple times before, and she had never thanked him so sincerely. Shikamaru wasn't stupid - he knew her uncharacteristic kindness and her generosity was due to his current state. While it was nice, it got frustrating - everyone was treating him differently and this certainly made it no easier on him. Nevertheless, the corners of Shikamaru's mouth twitched in an almost-smile; he bowed and exited the office, going to his Department.

Noon rolled around and it seemed to take ages. Shiho was working, as well, and she was the most awkward person to be around of all. Her fidgety fingers and constant mumbles drove him up the wall at times, in spite of her intelligence and helpfulness. Shikamaru decided he could take her awkwardness no longer and prepared to leave for a while. He stacked all his decoded messages into a neat pile and bound them with string. "Shiho, take these to the Hokage. Tell her they are the only ones we've gotten around to finishing until we return at two o'clock this afternoon. I have to be somewhere." Without saying goodbye, he pushed the package of papers towards Shiho, gathered his things and was out the door.

Outside it was quiet and heavy, like it had been for the past three weeks. He walked briskly, yet still in a slouch all the way to the hotel across the street from his apartment. Yes, this was it. He walked in and approached the front desk. The short, gangly teenager clerk was clearly intimidated by Shikamaru's height and scowl. "Sabaku no Temari should be somewhere in this building. I need to consult with her. What is her room number?" "Uhh...y-yes, sir. Right away." The clerk rummaged through some files and cards. It took a bit of searching, but he eventually picked his head up and said, "Room 107. Go down this hall and it'll be on your left." Shikamaru nodded and followed the directions to Temari's room. Behind him, he heard the clerk let out a large portion of air in relief that his encounter with the scary man was over.

It wasn't until he was standing outside her door that he remembered. He hadn't seen her since before it happened - did she know? Yes, she had to. After all, she was an ambassador. He remembered her as scary, but with her good moments. She was obviously very compassionate, but for some reason chose to hide it. He sometimes had the suspicion that her tough demeanor was only a façade. He wondered if he would be able to tolerate her for five days. He knocked slowly. Six minutes passed before he heard the doorknob turn. He found himself drawing his breath to prepare.

"Who's there?" A glossy teal eye appeared from behind the blue-painted door. "Shikamaru, is that you?" The door opened the rest of the way and Shikamaru, for the first time in three weeks (without noticing, of course), stood up straight and looked someone directly in the eyes.


	3. Chapter 3 Temari PoV

**A/N:** OH GOD YOU GUYS I'M SO SORRY. School started and hell broke loose. I promised Chapter Three up by August 23rd and I failed miserably...I've just been so incredibly busy. I want to thank every one of you reading for sticking with me. It's going to be really short but I needed SOMETHING to put up! Please enjoy it even though it's incredibly horrible.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASSEEEEE EXCUSE THIS CRAPPY CHAPTER!

I love you all.

* * *

Temari was indeed incredibly surprised to see Shikamaru at her door. Not only was it barely noon, but she wasn't required to meet him until tomorrow. She still invited him in. He was somehow different from the other bleak and colorless people she saw around the town, even though he took his own senseis' death the hardest. Even Kurenai had been more composed. But now he, the worst affected, had a better atmosphere about him than everyone else. Even so, Temari decided to take it easy on him.

"You're looking…well," she eventually decided to say. She seated him on the edge of her neatly-made bed and she sat on top of the dresser behind her. After she spoke, he raised an eyebrow in inquisition. "Really now?" he asked. Temari wasn't surprised. Of course he could see right through her. "I'm sorry…I just don't deal with sensitivity well. I'm never around it and thus never know what to say when faced with it." "Don't worry about it. But when it comes to me, you should always know just to be yourself and don't treat me any differently than you normally would. That's what's making this even harder to deal with is everyone's completely flipped attitudes toward me. Either they're too sympathetic, try to be too sympathetic, or just don't' talk to me at all. Still others don't get why I'm upset and are mad at me for taking it the way I did." Temari wasn't sure why he was confiding in her, but she made sure just to listen. Perhaps this was important for him.

"After his death, I was devastated. I didn't know what to do. He was everything. He taught me so much. He was like a second father - not that I don't love my real father or anything, but Asuma was just so _different._" He fell back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Now that I've had my time to cool down, I can actually think about it. Before I just looked for ways to dwell in my sorrow, but now I can come to terms with it. Of course I'm still depressed and upset, but I can be more sociable now. It would upset me to no end if everyone _including you_ treated me differently." The way he accentuated the words "including you" did not escape Temari's notice. She wondered what he meant, and ever the blunt one, she asked. "Including me? Why do I matter?" Shikamaru seemed startled that she had asked. "Only because you treated me so differently in the first place. Not like I was a superior…in fact, quite the opposite. You can actually somewhat match my intellect and use that against me. Over the years I've come to cherish the witty banters we have. You're very different than most people I know, and I appreciate having you as a friend. I need someone there for me that I can talk to like this…Chouji is my best friend, but he's one of the too-sympathetic ones and is fairly depressed himself. Ino is the same way."

She had to admit, she was very flattered. She had no idea Shikamaru valued her like this, and she also came to the conclusion that she valued him as a friend too. He was usually very on-task when with her and she always knew what to expect of him, and most likely vice versa as well. "Thanks, Lazybutt. I'm glad I don't have to treat you like a kiddie while I'm here. That would suck." She smiled her ferocious smile and then moved onto business. "All sentimentalities aside, we should get to talking about why you're here. Why are you here? I don't need to meet with you until tomorrow afternoon." "I simply couldn't deal with the rest of work today. Shiho's acting oddly - well really, she's always odd. But that's not the point. I decided I would take the second half of the day off and get cracking on scheduling for this upcoming week with you, so we're not doing it last minute like usual." Temari nodded at this. "Good for you, actually being proactive! I'm shocked." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sat up from laying on the bed.

"First thing's first. Is there anything you'd like to do while you're in town in particular?" Temari shook her head no. "Is there ever? The only things I'm interested in doing are my duties. I usually work in the Hokage's building during my says at one of the departments, considering I get experience at home with that." "That's true. But work days over at the Hokage building end at five. You're going to have a lot of time on your hands and it's my job to keep you occupied and entertained." "I'd rather just plan my evenings as they happen," said Temari. Shikamaru agreed. "Sounds good to me."

"Tomorrow after work we can grab some ramen and do some visiting. I can introduce you to Kurenai and we can sit with her for a while." Temari thought that was a great idea, but couldn't resist the temptation to mess with him. "Aww, does Shika-darling have a little crush? On an older woman?" But apparently, this was going a bit too far. "Temari, I thank you for doing what I asked and not treating me differently, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring Kurenai into your jokes. As you know she's carrying Asuma's child, and I'd never disrespect Asuma like that." This caught Temari by surprise but of course she said okay. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." "It's all right."

"Well anyway…it's only one o'clock. We've been talking for an hour."

"Yep."

"What should we do now?"

"I'd like to go back home if you don't mind."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I see how it is." She smirked.

He smirked back. His brown orbs sparkled and Temari wondered how long it had been since anyone had seen that.

The answer was three years ago, when Temari last visited.


	4. A Word from the Author

**To all the readers of this story:**

I'm really sorry. I really had it going with this one, but unfortunately, school came by and ruined it all. I've kind of lost the idea that I had when originally writing this, and so now I feel like I can't quite go on with it. So, as much as it pains me to say this, I don't see myself continuing it. BUT! That isn't to say I won't write anything else. I've currently got another story in the beginning stages of planning, so be on the lookout for something new, from me, in these upcoming weeks!

Thanks to all of you for sticking with me, and I'm sorry, again.


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